Chapter 188: Aurum Alley's Hustle and Bustle 『 Part Three 』
「 "Little by little, the younger generation of the Yaoqing has begun to favor the Immersia and toys produced by the IPC's entertainment division. They've donned the close-fitting cuts and trendy designs of IPC fashion; it's reached a point where one can barely distinguish whether they are Xianzhou natives or IPC employees."
"The architecture within the delve has likewise become unrecognizable. The graceful flying eaves I saw in my childhood are becoming fewer and fewer; the glazed tiles and Loess bricks have vanished. In their place, smooth-surfaced IPC monoliths, resembling tombstones, have begun to rise from the ground."
"Any Yaoqing native who has lived over five hundred years—like my mother—will say the Yaoqing has changed. Yet, they cannot say for certain whether this transformation is a sprint toward a beautiful future, or a slide down a precipice dictated by short-life species… They are simply filled with trepidation."
"When I saw Mingxi being confronted by the IPC, I felt the same uneasiness. She's been around several life-spans longer than that stooge, but somehow she was still at a loss for how to deal with him." Sushang said with heartfelt sincerity. 」
「 .....」
〜Monogatari World〜
"Hmph. I have lived for over six hundred years and witnessed the turning of countless foolish eras—I actually find myself empathizing somewhat with this little girl's words."
Atop the roof of the abandoned cram school, bathed in the twilight, Oshino Shinobu sat perched on the rusted railing. Araragi Koyomi approached, carrying a plastic convenience store bag, and handed a box of donuts from within it to the golden-haired girl.
"Is little Shinobu starting to miss the starlit skies of the Edo period, free from light pollution?"
"Kakka, how is that possible? The moon back then was far lonelier than it is now. Nowadays, the streets are full of humans staying up until two or three in the morning…"
Shinobu bit into a donut while watching the melancholy face of Sushang on the light screen.
"I was merely moved by the little girl's words… Although many things vanish with the passage of time, many good things also spring up."
Saying this, she brandished the donut in her hand, the corners of her lips curving upward into an expression of satisfaction.
"…Like this, for instance. Hundreds of years ago, I certainly couldn't eat such delicacies."
"So, in Shinobu's view, these changes are sprinting toward a beautiful future, right?"
Araragi cracked open a can of soda, the gas escaping with a sharp hiss.
"Indeed."
By the railing of the rooftop, Shinobu gently swung her snow-white legs.
"If this were the past, and I announced in public that I was a vampire, I would likely be loathed by countless people and then hunted to death by vampire hunters, no?"
"But today, if I were to turn on a camera and livestream myself claiming to be a vampire, there would undoubtedly be countless idiots rushing to shout, 'Streamer, please bite my neck!'… Although such behavior would equally irritate me, surely that counts as a good thing?"
—
「 A thousand words were eventually summarized by Sushang into a single sentence: "I want to help the Aurum Alley Merchant Guild. I want to help them protect Aurum Alley. I'm begging you!"
Seeing Sushang so earnest, the Stelle solidified their resolve and agreed to the little secretary's request.
Faced with the Stelle's powerful entry into the fray, the little secretary was overjoyed.
However, since she hadn't yet reported to the Guild President, she took the Stelle to find the President's secretary, Lianyan, declaring that the Stelle could definitely make Aurum Alley great again!
After all… no one understood inventory stacking and logistics route planning better than her!
After the Stelle briefly demonstrated their skills to the President, everyone marveled at the Stelle's legendary ability to connect the lines and formally issued their request.
The Stelle did not refuse. However, one thing puzzled her… even on such a momentous occasion, the President did not appear in person. The entire process was handled by her secretary, Lianyan, on her behalf. 」
「 .....」
〜Runeterra World〜
Zaun—
"Hey, I suddenly have a bold idea!"
Jinx suddenly flipped down from the rafters, landing behind Silco's chair, and started giggling.
"I'm guessing that the President is already a dead person! After all, a President who never shows their face certainly keeps Lianyan busy, doesn't it~"
"Lianyan… that polite secretary in front of the Stelle? Heh, your guess is interesting. When a shadow suddenly decides to stand in the sunlight, it usually means—"
"—It means she's long since cleaned up everything that needed cleaning! The Aurum Alley President? Ha! Maybe they can't even find the bones!"
Jinx made an exaggerated throat-slitting motion, laughing so hard she leaned back and forth.
"So, what you mean is… the rules of Aurum Alley are decided by a seemingly insignificant 'little secretary'?"
Silco's tone carried a hint of mockery, yet also a measure of appreciation.
If the facts were truly as Jinx anticipated, then these seemingly insignificant minor characters on the light screen possessed considerable wisdom and methods.
—
「 With the Stelle's participation, Aurum Alley's development saw immediate results, quickly completing the first phase of its revenue targets.
Just as the little secretary was preparing to treat the Stelle and Sushang to a proper celebration, Skottsuddenly arrived at the docks, running right into Sushang and the others.
Skottlooked around, seeing the group's hostile stance, and spoke unhurriedly: "I say, I'm just sending a package. Why am I being surrounded by you lot?"
"There's a problem with this guy's cargo. It damages other customers' goods, causing the docks to constantly pay out compensation…" Sushang glared fiercely at Skott.
The Stelle indicated they were going to inspect Skott's parcel, but the man suddenly raised his voice, adopting an attitude as if he wanted to blow the matter out of proportion: "Hah—?? Speak louder, I can't hear you clearly. Is this how you treat tourists in Aurum Alley?"
Sushang put her hands on her hips: "We are going to open his express package right now. There's definitely something fishy."
After a standoff, the Stelle decided to conduct a thorough inspection. After stacking his delivery crates in the open space, the Stelle actually discovered a [ Entranced Ingenium: Golden Cloud Toad ] inside the package…
At this critical juncture, the Golden Cloud Toad just happened to wake up… Although Stelle didn't know why everything was so coincidental, by the time she came back to her senses, she had already dismantled the rampaging Golden Cloud Toad into scrap metal.
Sushang immediately accused Skottof tampering with the Golden Cloud Toad to maliciously destroy others' cargo. Yet, faced with this accusation, Skottdeliberately raised his eyebrows, feigning deafness as he leaned his ear forward: "Hah—? Speak louder, I can't hear you clearly."
Everyone thought they had caught him red-handed, but the result revealed that the Golden Cloud Toad didn't belong to Skottat all. As for why it was placed there, no one could figure it out.
"You people caused this whole scene. If you don't apologize to me, it's really not going to look good."
"This… we have to apologize for this?" Sushang's momentum was instantly extinguished by half.
"Hah—? If you don't apologize, and word gets out, it won't sound very nice, will it?" Skott's eyebrows shot up, seemingly looking forward to the scene that would follow. 」
「 .....」